Israeli army soldiers in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon today. Odd Andersen / AFP – Getty Images
What to know
TRUMP’S HORMUZ DEMANDS: President Donald Trump has warned NATO faces a “very bad” future if allies do not send warships to help end the Iranian blockade of the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping route. With oil prices climbing and fears mounting of long-term economic fallout, Trump also urged China to help and suggested he could delay his trip to meet with President Xi Jinping.
GULF ATTACKS: Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest, temporarily suspended flights after a drone attack sparked a fire nearby. New strikes were reported across the region as Iran retaliated, while intense attacks hit Tehran as the war launched by the U.S. and Israel entered its third week.
LEBANON GROUND OPERATIONS: Israel announced this morning it has begun “limited and targeted ground operations” against what it said were strongholds of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in southern Lebanon. Israel said that residents in the area would be displaced until Israel feels its northern border is secure.
DEATH TOLL: More than 2,000 people have been killed across the Middle East. In Iran, more than 1,200 people have been killed by Israeli and American strikes, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. At least 850 people have been killed in Lebanon and 13 have died in Israel. Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed, and two more died of noncombat causes.
Trump’s China trip might be delayed: The Trump administration appeared to cast doubt on Trump’s visit to China taking place as scheduled at the end of the month, but insisted this was not to pressure Beijing to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz.
Strait of Hormuz : The top U.S. military commander in the Middle East says American forces are zeroing in on Iran’s threats to freighters carrying oil and natural gas through a vital chokepoint in the Persian Gulf. “We will continue to rapidly deplete Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz,” Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, said in a video posted to X.
Smoke fills the sky over Dubai International Airport
An Emirates aircraft prepares for landing as a smoke plume rises from an ongoing fire caused by an Iranian strike near Dubai International Airport today.
